Author
Topic: Moments after Kanye West left the mound (Read 108 times)

CHICAGO (AP) —http://www.oriolesfanproshop.com/authentic-ubaldo-jimenez-jersey , Kyle Schwarber and the Chicago Cubs put on their own show.Schwarber homered and drove in two runs, and the Cubs beat the crosstown White Sox 6-1 on Sunday to lower their magic number for clinching the NL Central title to five.Ben Zobrist had three hits and Kyle Hendricks dazzled again as the Cubs took the rubber game of the weekend series. They also stayed 2½ games ahead of second-place Milwaukee, which cruised to a 13-6 victory at Pittsburgh.West brought some real star power to the finale of this year’s Windy City series, with the rapper throwing out a surprise ceremonial first pitch alongside his son Saint. Once the game began, it was all Cubs.“You saw the baserunning today. We scored with outs today. We moved the ball with two strikes today. We had a couple base hits to the opposite field today,” manager Joe Maddon said. “The ball was moved, and that’s why you saw the good result.”Playing the field for the first time since being sidelined with a back injury, Schwarber led off the second with a long drive off Carlos Rodon (6-7) for his first homer against a left-hander this season and his 26th overall. He doubled home Albert Almora Jr. in the third, giving the Cubs a 5-0 lead.“A couple good days at the plate,” said Schwarber, who also had two hits while serving as the designated hitter for Saturday’s 8-3 victory. “Just got to, you know, keep that good feeling going into these last couple games.”Rodon’s rough September continued as the White Sox lost for the fifth time in seven games. He was tagged for six runs and nine hits in 2 1/3 innings while dropping to 0-4 with a 6.84 ERA in five starts this month.“I went out there and did the best I could. Definitely came up well short,” Rodon said.The South Siders finished with just four hits, scoring their only run on Tim Anderson’s ground-rule double in the fifth.The Cubs got four hits — in the first.Daniel Murphy and Zobrist opened the game with consecutive singles. After Javier Baez struck out swinging, Anthony Rizzo hit an RBI double, Almora drove in Zobrist with a grounder to third and David Bote added a run-scoring single on a bouncer down the third-base line.“They came out very aggressive,” White Sox manager Rick Renteria said.It was more than enough for Hendricks (13-11), who is on quite a roll heading into the final days of the regular season. The right-hander struck out five and walked none in 7 2/3 innings.Hendricks pitched 8 2/3 innings of one-run ball in a 5-1 victory at Arizona last Monday. He is 4-1 with a 1.37 ERA in his last six starts.“This has been a different end to the season for me http://www.oriolesfanproshop.com/authentic-joey-rickard-jersey , going this deep into ballgames back to back, kind of,” he said. “I haven’t had that before, but it’s really just a product of having a good lead. We’ve had a lot of runs up there and I’ve just been making some good pitches.”HAWK’S LAST DAYLongtime White Sox broadcaster Ken “Hawk” Harrelson worked his final game, closing out a colorful TV career after three-plus decades in the booth. He wiped away a few tears when he was shown on the videoboard in center before the bottom of the ninth, and he waved and tapped his heart when the White Sox and Cubs applauded and waved their hats toward the booth after the final out.TRAINER’S ROOMCubs: 3B Kris Bryant was held out because of fatigue in his left shoulder. The 2016 NL MVP was on the disabled list from July 26 to Sept. 1 with left shoulder inflammation. He missed time earlier in the season with the same issue. Maddon said Bryant’s shoulder is “a little bit fatigued, not hurting, just fatigued.”UP NEXTCubs: LHP Cole Hamels (9-10, 3.90 ERA) starts Monday night against Pittsburgh in the opener of a seven-game homestand that wraps up the regular season. Jameson Taillon (13-9, 3.24 ERA) pitches for the Pirates.White Sox: RHP Dylan Covey (5-13, 5.33 ERA) gets the ball for the opener of a three-game series against AL Central champion Cleveland. Corey Kluber (19-7, 2.93 ERA) pitches for the visiting Indians on Monday night. One half of the participants for the 2018 World Series has been determined, as the Boston Red Sox captured the American League pennant Thursday night.We'll know Boston's opponent by Saturday, and possibly as early as Friday, as the Los Angeles Dodgers hold a 3-2 NLCS lead over the Milwaukee Brewers going into Friday's Game 6 at Miller Park.Boston is making its first appearance in the Fall Classic since 2013, when it defeated the St. Louis Cardinals in six games.When the World Series begins Tuesday at Fenway Park, the Red Sox will be facing their third different National League foe in their fourth World Series appearance since 2004.In every World Series, a few breakout stars emerge, and Boston's ALCS victory gave us a glimpse as to which players might fill that role. Meanwhile Pedro Alvarez Jersey , we have an idea who could feature in a starring spot for the eventual National League champion. 2018 World Series ScheduleGame 1:Tuesday, October 23 (Time TBD, Fox)Game 2:Wednesday, October 24 (Time TBD, Fox)Game 3:Friday, October 26 (Time TBD, Fox)Game 4:Saturday, October 27 (Time TBD, Fox)Game 5:Sunday, October 28 (Time TBD, Fox)Game 6:Tuesday, October 30 (Time TBD, Fox)Game 7:Wednesday, October 31 (Time TBD, Fox) Players Who Will Decide ChampionshipDavid PriceDavid Price's ALCS Game 5 start was hopefully a turning point in his postseason career.Price, whose playoff struggles have been well documented in recent weeks, tossed six scoreless innings to help the Red Sox down the Houston Astros 4-1 Thursday.Thursday's outing marked the first time Price gave up less than two runs in a postseason start, which is a welcome development for a Boston team counting on its rotation to alleviate the pressure on the bullpen.Elsa/Getty ImagesChris Sale should start Game 1 of the World Series, which would set up Price for a Game 2 outing on the mound http://www.oriolesfanproshop.com/authentic-tim-beckham-jersey , similar to what we saw in the ALDS and ALCS.Now that Price has confidence behind him from earning his first postseason victory as a starter, he could produce a similar performance at Fenway Park against the NL champion.Before Thursday, the idea of using Price out of the bullpen was a good one, and it still might be if the Red Sox need to close out a tight game on the road.If Boston manager Alex Cora sticks with the same rotation he utilized in the ALCS, Price would be available for an inning or two between Games 2 and 6.Cora showed in the clinching victory over the Astros that he's not afraid to use a starter in a key relief role, as ALCS Game 3 starter Nathan Eovaldi threw 1.1 innings to set up closer Craig Kimbrel.No matter which role he fills late in the series, Price will benefit from another strong start in Game 2 and be the difference-maker no one expected he could be as recently as Thursday afternoon.Yasiel PuigThe Dodgers will clinch the National League pennant in Milwaukee, and after that, they will rely on an unlikely star at the plate to be competitive at Fenway Park in Games 1 and 2 of the World Series.In each of his past six postseason series, Yasiel Puig hasrecorded at least three hits, with the 2017 NLDS and NLCS being his most successful outings.Puig's bat is starting to come alive against the Brewers, as he has four hits in the past three NLCS games, and he will increase that production in the World Series with the Red Sox more concerned with other batters in the Los Angeles order.Kevork Djansezian/Getty ImagesThe Boston pitchers will be forced to pitch to Puig, who normally resides further down the order, because they will have so much focus on limiting the production of Justin Turner, Manny Machado and others.That careful strategy will end up in a few walks that set the stage for the back end of the Los Angeles lineup to drive in runs.With Puig beginning to heat up at the plate again, he will come up with a few hits in clutch situations and record a game-winning hit at some point in the series. Follow Joe on Twitter, JTansey90.